The story of Cape Curry

19 July 2016

Before commercial curry powder was available at the Cape, every cook had his or her own recipe for a curry mix. In the oldest Dutch, Flemish and Cape recipe manuscripts many curry recipes were documented. We chose three* of these traditional curry blends, which we only slightly adapted for use by the modern cook. They are now available from the La Motte Farm Shop (R40 each), making it easy to cook a traditional Cape Curry!

Cape Curries are known for their perfume rather than hotness – especially when compared to Durban curries that use more pepper and chilli spice. Cape Curries are milder and have a typical yellow colour, as they always contain turmeric. Other popular spices are coriander, cloves, nutmeg and saffron. Also typical of the traditional Cape Curry is the sweet-sour taste profile, usually as ingredients include a combination of vinegar and brown sugar or apricot jam. Fruit and dried fruit such as apricots or raisins are often used as part of the curry ingredients or at least served as a side dish in the form of yellow rice with raisins or stewed dried fruit or preserved quince.

La Motte’s Cape Winelands Cuisine Cookbook shares a host of traditional curry recipes – from curried fish to chicken, lamb and seafood, as well as sambals to serve on the side. Of course the book also includes a recipe for the very traditional bobotie and even a version containing mussel meat!

*Three traditional curry recipes:

The oldest curry recipe comes from Thomas van der Noot’s recipe book of 1510. In this book, curry recipes such as pig’s tripe and curried fish with saffron were included. He did not give exact measurements, but merely listed the ingredients.

The second recipe was found in a handwritten cookbook by Mary Sanderson. The inscription on the yellowed pages of this cookbook reads ‘1770’.

The last recipe was found in a copy of Wilhelmina Mostert’s cookbook (ca. mid 1800’s), that listed the recipes in her neat handwriting, with reference to their origin.

What wine? Choosing a wine to complement your curry is not always that easy. All depends on the type of curry, of course! According to South African authority on food and wine combinations, Katina van Niekerk: “Just as we now know the difference between a Shiraz and a Cabernet, so we can now also tell a korma from a vindaloo.” For the Cape-style Chicken Curry below, we recommend the 2014 La Motte Chardonnay. The wine shows a typical Franschhoek character, with lime and lemon fruit and cashew nut in the background. Quite refreshing, the wine maintains substantial body – ideal with a fragrant curry with coconut milk and typical South African dried fruit. The wine has ample finesse, with a

Some of the documented variations of this sixteenth-century curry recipe contained raisins or dry figs, and fresh-water fish such as carp or eel were often used instead of chicken. For this recipe, typical South African ingredients – dried apricots and raisins – are used. Although coconut cream was not used in the original, it is included in our contemporary recipe – the

popular way in which chicken curry is served in the Cape Winelands today.

Ingredients

3 Tbsp (45 ml) butter

1 whole chicken, deboned and cut into portions

1 onion, chopped

2 sour apples, cored and chopped

1 cup (250 ml) dried apricots, soaked in water and sliced

½ cup (125 ml) seedless raisins

1 Tbsp (15 ml) sugar

1 Tbsp (15ml) salt

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 tsp (5 ml) tamarind paste dissolved in 1 cup (250 ml) water

3 Tbsp (45 ml) curry mix 2

3 Tbsp (45 ml) white wine vinegar

½ cup (125 ml) coconut cream

1 Tbsp (15 ml) chopped fresh sage or fresh coriander leaves

Method

Heat a stovetop casserole dish or large saucepan. Brown the butter and add the chicken pieces. Cook on all sides until golden brown. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Add the onion to the saucepan and cook for 5 minutes. Add the apples, apricots, raisins and sugar and allow to caramelise.